Installing Handwood floors

Installing hardwood floors is not very easy process but at the same time it is not so difficult. After Reading this article, you will be able to install hardwood floors by yourself. Before Installing Hardwood floors, you should thinkg about tools, you should need during the installation:

• 2 inch (50 mm) nails for hardwood floors
• Square
• Power nailer, pneumatic or manual
• Chalk line
• Rubber mallet
• Pencil
• Sub-flooring
• Hygrometer
• Mitre saw or circular saw
• Electric drill and 3/32 inch (2 mm) bit
• Tape measure
• Moisture meter
• Wax stick
• Nail punch
• Safety glasses
• Claw hammer


After you preped all this tools, you should think about preparing the surface for installing hardwood floors. Existing floors or demaged sub-flooring should be replaced. For the wood sub-flooring, it is recomended to install construction paper (15 lb-6 kg), and for cement floors it better to install asphalt felt paper.You should also keep in mind that humidity of the sub-flooring should not be more than 12% and using moisture meter for checking the humidity levels of the floor is very important. The sub-floor should be free of debris as well as dry and consist of 5/8 inch (16 mm) plywood.

The next step in installing hardwood floors is to prepare the environment. The temperature of the room should be between 64°F and 72°F(thats 18°C and 22°C) and the humidity should be between 45% and 55%. That's to avoid problems that can be caused by the humidity. For checking the humidity level, you should use hygrometer. After all this checkings are done, open the board packages and leave them in the room for 2 days to let the wood adapt to the environment.

Now comes the most important part of the whole process: praparations for the installation. Keep in mind these advices:

• Install boards perpendicular to the joists.
• Boards installation will start parallel to the longest and straightest wall in the room, usually an exterior wall. Installation can also start near stair nosings and reducers, which will facilitate adjustments once reaching the wall.
• Measure the room carefully to ensure that the last board is at least one inch (25 mm) wide;
• Remove baseboards and other accessories and cut the bottom of door frames,
• Arrange the boards in an approximate pattern

After the preparations are done, you should start the installing of the first rows.
1.Trace a line parallel to the wall with the chalk line.
2.Use the straightest boards to start.
3.Install the first board, groove side facing the wall, tongue side along the line
4.Drill, then nail the board from the top.
5.Drive nails into the board with the nail punch, using a wax stick matching the shade of the boards, to conceal the holes.
6.Secure with concealed nails using the power nailer
7.Cut the last board of the first row, leaving a 3/4 inch (19 mm) distance between the wall and the tip of the board


So, that's a small tutorial. If you want to find out more information about installing hardwood floors, visit my blog.